Is the commercial vehicle market behaving differently to cars?

From Leanne Thomson, Van Lead

It’s been wonderful to see so many commercial vehicle retailers watching the weekly Auto Trader webinars, and whilst all of the content we’ve provided through the blog and on the webinars over recent weeks applies to all vehicle channels, there are some things that are unique to our marketplace, and I’d like to share some of that insight with you here.

During the last week of March and first week of April, visits to Auto Trader Vans was tracking roughly 35% behind the same time last year, which was in line with what we were seeing on Auto Trader as a whole. However from w/c 13th April we have seen some signs that there is a quicker recovery for vans, perhaps as small businesses and sole traders begin to think about getting back to work.

We are now consistently seeing daily traffic reach pre-lockdown levels and in fact last weeks Van sessions on the site were 17% ahead of the same time last year! Thanks to strong consumer demand van adviews are up 21% year on year and garage saves last week were higher than they have been in the past 12 months.

Some consumer research on Auto Trader Vans indicated that 37% of people browsing are looking to buy a van in the next three months. This, along with the recent week-on-week audience growth and the fact that the SMMT recently announced the best selling vehicle in April was a Mercedes Sprinter van, suggests that the more “essential” nature of a van is driving this behaviour.

As we begin to prepare for a phased approach to restrictions being lifted, it becomes increasingly important to make sure you’re prepared for the coming weeks. Next week I will be joined by my colleagues from Auto Trader and experts from across the industry to present a vans webinar – with content that is specific to commercial vehicle retailers and anybody stocking vans. Please register to watch live or on demand to find out how you can prepare and get “retail ready responsibly”.